Former England international Gary Ballance on Wednesday admitted to using racial slurs against former Yorkshire teammate Azim Rafiq, causing the county to face sponsorships. Balance said in a statement: “I’m sorry that I used the term in my younger years in immature exchanges.”
Read also: Yorkshire loses major sponsors over rafik racism
The 31-year-old, who played 23 Test matches for England, said: “It has been reported that I used a racial slur and as I pointed out in the independent investigation, I accept that I did and I regret doing so .
“I don’t want to defame Rafa by repeating the words and statements he made about me and others, but I must clarify that this was a situation where best friends used to say offensive things to each other, Which would be outside that context. Considered completely unfair,” Balance said.
Balance said that “I never believed or understood that this caused the Rafa crisis” – he added that if he had realized, “I would have stopped immediately”.
Balance’s admission came after the publishing company Emerald ended its relationship with their Headingley Stadium in Yorkshire and Leeds, handling a report that found Rafiq faced “racial harassment and bullying” at the club. Was.
On a difficult day for the club, local brand Yorkshire Tee followed shirt sponsor Anchor Butters in ending its partnership with Yorkshire.
Several other sponsors, including the beer company Tetley, chose not to extend their deals.
“We do not tolerate any form of racism or discriminatory behavior and its harmful effects,” Emerald said in a statement.
“We hope the YCCC will listen and respond with serious action from the club to eradicate racism and uphold the values we all expect.”
The county offered Rafiq, 30, a “severe and unreserved apology” when the report was published in September, but said last week it would not take any disciplinary action against any of the employees.
The story has triggered a wave of criticism against Yorkshire, drawing in senior British politicians and the governing body of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Rafiq, Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton and the county’s chief executive and director of cricket have been called to testify before a British parliamentary committee on 16 November.
Committee chairman Julian Knight has said that Yorkshire’s board must break out of “endemic racism” and called the row “one of the most repulsive and disturbing episodes in modern cricket history”.
Pakistan-born off-spinner Rafiq, who represented Yorkshire between 2008 and 2018, made 43 allegations and said that his treatment at the club had led him to suicidal thoughts.
Yorkshire’s revised report upheld seven of their claims but concluded that the club was not institutionally racist.
“Nobody believed me, nobody listened, everyone tried to protect themselves and left me alone to fight,” Rafiq tweeted this week. “Time for the Absolute Truth.”
get all IPL news and cricket score Here
.